How to Use Google+

How to Use Google+

Although Google+ is not yet available for businesses you’re going to want to know how to use Google+ and all of its features if you’re a marketer. I know most of us have just become semi-comfortable with Facebook, but learning how to use Google+ is going to be essential, and you’ll be blown away by its new features.

How to Use Google+ | Get Ready for Brand Pages

Here are 5 tips on how to use Google+ brand pages before they come out, as provided by Ron Schott, a social media expert and the Senior Social Media Strategist responsible for Social CRM + Campaigns at Spring Creek Group:

1. Do Your Community Research

When getting started on how to use Google+ check to see if your brand influencers are already active on Google+. You don’t want to spend time and money focusing on a platform if your key influencers aren’t there. That’s like walking into a crowd and screaming your message, hoping some of the people you want to hear it are there. I’d recommend talking to your brand influencers on researching how to use Google+ as well.

2. Use it Yourself

You’d be surprised by the number of marketing professionals who spend time around conference tables pontificating and strategizing about “social ROI,” “engagement strategy,” and “social sharing” who don’t actually participate in social media. Don’t be one of those people. Immerse yourself in the Google+ community and learn how to use Google+ and the nuances that make it different than other networks.

3. Create Your Community Strategy

Before you begin marketing to Google+ users, you need to put a solid community strategy in place. You’ll want to know how to use Google+ features. Build a plan that answers the following questions before reaching out to them on the platform:

What are the potential ways to communicate in this channel? (Posts, promotions, paid ads, contests, updates, and other content)

How is this channel different than our other social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter?

What are target audiences looking for from this channel? Are they like Facebook users, of do they come to Google+ to interact about different topics than they do on Facebook?

4. Decide on Success Metrics

Figure out what you can measure on Google+ to determine success for your marketing or brand engagement goals. Make a list of all the metrics you can measure (e.g., number of fans, clicks, comments, shares). This is great pre-preparation for how to use Google+.

No one knows whether Google+ will offer a paid ad program, but chances are they will, and those ads will come with their own measurement metrics. But for now, figure out what you can measure from the get-go. Think about how to use Google+ for ads, keep its features in mind.

5. Develop a Rollout Plan

When the gates open and brands are allowed on Google+, there will undoubtedly be a flood of content hitting users who will have just gotten used to using the new network for their personal relationships. Create a phased content rollout plan to ensure you don’t bombard your targets with unwanted messages. We know that people don’t like spam, focus on a two way conversation this is how to use Google+ effectively. Start slowly, and tweak content based on reactions.